by Peter Kramer
Employment statistics for women in Hollywood continue to paint a depressing picture,[1] as do the statistics for female roles in Hollywood movies.[2] In general women are severely underrepresented both in the industry and on screen. And yet, without necessarily diminishing the rather bleak overall outlook, there are some surprising developments to observe, which concern both theatrical and Netflix releases.
It used to be said that a female actor’s career goes into decline when she hits 40, and also that “[t]here are only three ages for women in Hollywood: babe, district attorney, and Driving Miss Daisy” – a line delivered by a 50-year-old Goldie Hawn playing a 45-year-old actor who is undergoing ever more cosmetic surgery to look younger in The First Wives Club (1996). It also used to be said that since the late 1960s almost all really big-budget Hollywood productions had male protagonists (perhaps with a female sidekick). Of course, there have always been exceptions to these apparent rules – such as the huge success of Jane Fonda (b. 1937) in the late 1970s and early 1980s or several female-centred megabudget movies by James Cameron – but recently such exceptions seem to have proliferated, especially with regards to female actors over 40 (co-)starring in often rather expensive and/or very successful Science Fiction/fantasy/superhero/action movies.
The name that might first come to mind in this context is Gal Gadot, but, born in 1985, she is younger than 40. And yet there is no reason to believe that, following her appearances in two Wonder Woman and several more Justice League movies as well as numerous Fast & Furious and other action films, including the most watched film ever on Netflix, Red Notice (2021),[3] she won’t continue in this vein for years, perhaps decades to come. In fact, two Red Notice sequels and another Wonder Woman movie are already in development. It is also worth noting that Wonder Woman 1984(2020) features the perhaps most unlikely female supervillain ever with comedian Kristen Wiig (b. 1973) venturing into violent action in her mid-40s.
If there is anyone who can challenge Gal Gadot for the title of ‘queen of the franchises’, it is Zoe Saldana (b. 1978). She was featured in action-oriented films at a younger age but has kept it up beyond 40. She has appeared in all three of the highest-grossing films of all time at the global box office[4] – Avatar (2009), Avengers: Endgame (2019) and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) – as well as numerous other Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, especially the Guardians of the Galaxysubfranchise, and in the recent Star Trek film series.
In this context, it is also worth mentioning Michelle Rodriguez (b. 1978) who, apart from a key supporting role in Avatar, appears in many Fast & Furious films (most recently, in her mid-40s, in Fast X [2023]) as well as two Resident Evil zombie apocalypse and two Machete action movies. Rodriguez has also appeared, and sometimes starred, in a range of other action-oriented movies, as has Milla Jovovich (b. 1975), best known as the star of many Resident Evil films and recently, in her mid-40s, taking the lead in the Sci-Fi actioner Monster Hunter (2020). Similarly, Kate Beckinsale (b. 1973) has starred as an ass-kicking vampire in the Underworld series and also, for example, already in her late 40s, in the spectacularly violent Jolt (2021).
Then there is Charlize Theron (b. 1975) who has played the villain in three Fast & Furious and two Huntsman movies, and received top or second billing in several action movies, most impressively perhaps in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and, when in her mid-40s, in The Old Guard(2020), another one of the most watched films ever on Netflix. A sequel to this last film is forthcoming, also perhaps one for the action thriller Atomic Blonde (2017). Angelina Jolie (b. 1975) has starred in a wide range of more or less action-oriented fantasy/ superhero films and thrillers, most recently in Those Who Wish Me Dead and Eternals (both 2021).
There is no reason to think that these and other female actors will stop appearing in action-oriented films after their mid-40s. Already into their 50s, Jennifer Lopez (b. 1969) recently starred in the thriller The Mother (2023, the eighth most watched film ever on Netflix), and Halle Berry (b. 1966) cast herself in the role of a mixed martial arts fighter making a comeback in her directorial debut Bruised (2020) and then received top billing for the science-fiction disaster movie Moonfall (2022). Last but not least, Sandra Bullock (b. 1964) had the biggest box office hit of her career with the science-fiction thriller Gravity (2013), when she was almost 50, then was hugely successful on Netflix with Bird Box (2018), another, but very different, science-fiction thriller (and the fourth most watched films of all time on Netflix), while also receiving top billing for the action comedy The Lost City (2022).
There are no doubt many other cases, including female stars whose careers I have not followed so closely. Viola Davis (b. 1965), for example, has recently had an important role in two Suicide Squad movies and starred as a leader of female warriors in The Woman King (2022). Michelle Yeoh (b. 1962) has appeared in action movies for decades, and recently starred in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) in which, among other things, she returned to martial arts, still doing her own stunts at almost 60 years of age. And already in her mid-60s, Annette Bening (b. 1958) had to train for a year to get ready for her title role in Nyad (2023), which tells the true story of a 60-year-old woman swimming from Florida to Cuba.
In addition it is useful to point out that, while not an action-heroine, Julia Roberts (b. 1967) has successfully, if somewhat belatedly, ventured into the end-of-the-world genre with Leave the World Behind (2023), the fifth most watched movie ever on Netflix. And we should remind ourselves that even the actress who could be regarded as the godmother of Hollywood’s recent action heroines, Sigourney Weaver (b. 1949), who made such an enormous impact as Ripley in Alien (1978), has been given a new lease of action-oriented on-screen life with the help of computer-generated imagery as young Kiri in Avatar: The Way of Water (2022). In fact, two other godmothers are also still active in the field: Jamie Lee Curtis (b. 1958), star of Halloween (1978), is still battling Michael Myers in the 2020s, and Linda Hamilton (b. 1956), who first had to confront a killer robot in The Terminator (1984), returned to her iconic role as Sarah Connor in Terminator: Dark Fate (2019).
Perhaps none of this should be surprising: after all, male stars have for decades been appearing in action-oriented movies well into their 50s and 60s and indeed beyond. So why shouldn’t women do the same? Why not, indeed. But this is not how Hollywood has traditionally operated. And it is certainly noteworthy that not only are there currently so many female stars playing these kinds of roles into their 40s, 50s and even 60s, but quite a few of their films make it onto the list of the most watched films ever on Netflix or are ranked highly in the all-time global box office chart.
In conclusion, I am tempted to revise some of the old sayings: a female actor’s Hollywood career may only really take off after she has hit 40; and there are so many more than just three ages for women in Hollywood movies and there appear to be few limits to how physically demanding their roles at most ages can be.
[1] See Martha M. Lauzen, The Celluloid Ceiling: Employment of Behind-the-Scenes Women on Top Grossing U.S. Films in 2023, https://womenintvfilm.sdsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-Celluloid-Ceiling-Report.pdf.
[2] See Martha M. Lauren, It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World: Portrayals of Female Characters in the Top Grossing U.S. Films of 2023, https://womenintvfilm.sdsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2023-Its-a-Mans-Celluloid-World-Report.pdf.
[3] See https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/what-to-watch/most-watched-series-movies-of-all-time-hours-watched/.
[4] See https://www.boxofficemojo.com/chart/ww_top_lifetime_gross/?area=XWW.
Peter Krämer is a Senior Research Fellow in Cinema and Television in the Leicester Media School at De Montfort University. He is the author or editor of twelve academic books, most recently American Graffiti: George Lucas, the New Hollywood and the Baby Boom Generation (Routledge, 2023).
Women's Film and Television History Network - UK/Ireland 